Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-25

die. NV days are almost over. He cannon
he spared. Take me-" And they accepted
the sacrifice. Wonderful sacrifice! you sag,
Luz not so wonderful as that found in the
| Gospel. for We deserved to die. aye, we
were sentenced when Christ, o worn out
with years but in the Flush OF his youth,
said: "Save that man from. going down to
the pit: l am the ransom. Put his burdens
. on my shoulders. Let his stripes fall on
| my back. Take my heart for his heart.
Let me die that he ma live" Shall 1t be
told to-day in Heaven that notwithstanding
all those wounds, and all that blood. and
all those tears and all that agony you would
not accept HIM?
Was it for crimes that I had done,
He groancd upon the tree?
Anuzing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree.
There is no woe amid the surroundings
of that scene that impresscs me more than
that of His w mother. You need not
point her out to me. l can see by the sor-
row., the anguish, the VICE., blythe upthrown
you say, "why didn't she go down 10 the
foot OF the hill and sit with her back to the
scene? 1t was too horrible for her TO look
upon" Do you not know when q child is
in anguish or trouble it always makes a
heroine of a mother? Take her away, You
say, from the cross. You cannot drag her
away. She will keepon looking. AS long
as her son breathes she will stand there
looking. Oh, what a scene it was for n
tender hearted mother TO look upon! How
gladly she would have sprung to His relief!
1t was her son. Herson! How gladly she
wouH have clambered up on the cross and
hung there herself if her son could have
been relieved! How Strengthening she
.-z-ll l-.,o o,.. -. Tl.s:,x - ,la .,:.l
have come close by Him and soothed Him!
sick child said, upon whom a surgical
operation of a painful mature must be per-
formed. The doctor said: THAT child
won't live through this operation unless
YOU ncourag him. You go in and get his
consent" Tho father told him all the
doctor said. and added: Nov, John, will
you go through with ii? Will you consent
to it," Helookcd very pale, and he thought
o minute, and said: ayes, father, if you
will hold my hand, l will" SO the father
held his hand, and led him straight through
the peril. Oh, woman, in Your hour of
anguish, whom do you wan with you?
Mother. Young man, in Your our Of
trouble, who do you want to console you?
Mother. If the mother of Jesus could
only have taken those bleeding feet into
her lap! II she might have taken the dy-
ing head on her bosom! If she mighthavc
said TO Him: ut will soon be over, Jesus;
it will soon be over, and we will meet again
and it will be all WELL" But no, she
dared not come up SO close. They would
have struck her back with their hammers.
They would have kicked her down the hill.
There can be no alienation at all. Jesus
must suffer and Mary must look. / sup
pose she thought of the birth hour in Beth
/ lol,1r ,,~-~, rtn f-,.z1 - x.-
when, with her boy in her bosom she hast
ened on in the darkness in the fight to-
wards Egypt. l suppose she thought of
His %boyhood, when He was the JOY of her
heart. l suppose she thought of the
thousand kindnesses He had done her, not
forsaking her or forgetting her. even in His
last moment. but turning to John and say
ing: There is mother; take her With you.
She is old now. She cannot help herself.
Do for her just as I would have done for
her if l had lived. Be very tender and
gentle with her. Behold thy mother!"
She thought it all over, and there is no
memory like a mothers memory and there
is no woe like a mothers woe.
l remark again. This is a tender scene
because it is Christian reunion. Why
was it that i'll the seasonal meeting when I
asked a woman ii it were her son who sat
next to her, making profession of his faith,
she made no answer; but after q moment,
trying to control her emotion she burst
into tears. l said within myself, she need
not tell me the story. 1t is the old story
Of Il prodigal got back. The dead is
alive and the lost is found" Oh, how
many families there are tina: rejoice to.
gether to-day.
These Christians during the rest of the
year, perhaps, will not know much about
each other. You go in one circle of So
clety, these 20 in some other circle of So
clety, and this one travels in that ratll and
tn,s one IN the other path; but to-day We
all come on one platform, and We make
one confession; and we cling TO one cross.
and We gaze upon one death anguish. f.
seems to me thismorning not like a church.
Tut like a great family circle, and we ioin
hands around the cross Of Christ and we
say: "One lord. one faith, one baptism.
one cross. one Christ, one doyo,ory. one
heaven!' While I stand here it seems 10
me as il this communion table. which is
only seven or eight feet long, and three or
tour feet wide, wilcns until all the
Christians OF our own denomination can
SIT at 1t, and still the table wilens until ali
Christians i'll this land of all names and
a"ne'nlnnlion come and sit at it; and still
the table widens until it BRIDGES The cao
and Christians on the other s,de of the Az
]antlc come and sit at it: and still tho, tol la
%ldens, until the redeemed of he,van
mlngle i'll the communion. Church nil
tant, church triumphant.
One army Of the living God
10 his command We bow
fatt OF the host have crossed the rood
ana part are crossing now.
Again, my friends. this is an ahsor,;ra
scene because il arouses so many rscionS
memories. We look Lack ans, ren,nn,Iar
We days of our childhood when. lono w..
lore we Knew The mcai.iny OF bread am,
%lne' we sat in the side pews on socra1
mental days orin the galleries. and IuoIaI o.
our 1%atner;', mothers. and O der hrn,nan'
ana sisters sat Mt the communion ~ 80
we sat with them, We pulled at mo h. ~
dress aud said: "o'hefs
what does that mean? What, ia ,h,,
,he cup? What is that on the plate% '' q ~
yes; we remember those sacromen,a, o.
OIL our boyhood. w rcmemler Lo" u"!s
more tender lather was On Thai dnv ~ ln"eh
any other day. We remember how on
Stood and withou, saying one word M In"ha
at us, and her eyes 90, 1ull Of tsar any, iooheo
,he dear old soul! They Lave nonn; Uh,
until the day of our death We vii; IInp! bHt
ms molly ordinance with their ms 'uelase
and when our work on earth is dnnlory.
VIII Just go up and sit down h.s;aa eune we